read thru the Bible in a year

I started reading through the Bible last year when Becky Tirabassi was in town. She was speaking about the Burning Heart Contract, and it absolutely connected with me. If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, jump on it. But I digress...

My reading plan had me in Ezra 3 today. The Israelites have been set free from captivity by the Persian King Cyrus. He told them that God had given him all the kingdoms of the earth, and that God had appointed Cyrus to build a temple in Jerusalem. In chapter 3, the work for the temple has started, with the newly freed Jews laying the foundation for the second temple in Jerusalem.

Here's the cool part:

But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.

Joyful shouting mingled with the tears of those who had seen the glory of the former temple, that was no more.

Looking back with regrets, looking forward to restoration...sounds like the start of a new year, a new season.

Yup...